$36,000 Award: Nominate Young Jewish Leaders Making a Difference in Their Communities

Do you know a teen with a passion for making the world a better place? The Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards are seeking nominations of exceptional Jewish teens leading meaningful community service and social change initiatives. The national award annually recognizes up to 15 Jewish teens with $36,000 each towards their project or education. Up to five teens from California and ten from across the United States will be recognized for their humanitarian efforts.

Teachers, Civic Leaders, Rabbis—anyone interested in nominating a teen, or any teen interested in applying—can visit www.dillerteenawards.org to begin the nomination/application process. The deadline for nominations is December 18, 2018 and the deadline for applications is January 8, 2019. Self-identified Jewish teens who are 13 to 19 years old on January 8, 2019 are eligible. Teens who have applied in the past are also eligible to reapply.

Since its inception in 2007, the program has awarded more than $4 million to 114 teens in recognition of their vision, innovation, and leadership.

“This past year clearly demonstrated the power of youth and their ability to engage in helping repair our world,” said Jackie Safier, President of the Helen Diller Family Foundation. “The 2018 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award recipients are confronting some of the most complex and divisive issues of our time with a passion, determination, and courageousness we can all admire and emulate. These teens remind us that individuals of any age can be leaders and advocates positively impacting the world in significant ways.”

Past recipients of the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards have made their mark through projects that advocate for a wide range of causes including: designing and upcycling clothing for homeless GLBT youth in LA; free STEM summer camps for under-privileged girls; using new technology to offer fast, free cervical cancer screening to women in developing countries; creating a supportive and empowering community for teens who’ve lost a parent; developing awareness about the refugee crisis while creating educational opportunities for immigrant refugee students, and so much more.

Beyond bolstering national recognition of the teens and their projects, the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards program fosters a growing network of award recipient alumni who collaborate on leadership, innovation, and volunteer service across the country. Members of the alumni network inspire each other to form new partnerships, expand existing organizations, and continue striving towards a better world.

TO NOMINATE: Complete the online “Nominate” form found at www.dillerteenawards.org. For more information, email dillerteenawards@sfjcf.org or call (415) 512-6432.

The deadline for nominations is December 18, 2018 and the deadline for applications is January 8, 2019.